No quitter
by KezaBabez
Summary: Shera tries to stop Cid from smoking and it's proving hard on him. Rated T because of Cid's language. Written as part of my 100 FFVII one-shots that I deleted years go x


Was part of my 100 one shots but I'm posting it as a little stand alone. Enjoy x

**I'm no quitter!**

It wasn't for the good of his health or for any self-satisfaction that he had tried to quit smoking, it had been for the woman he loved – Shera. She hated kissing him whilst his mouth tasted like ash and smoke, hated walking into room he had been smoking in and needing a gas mask. The smell lingered in the furniture and onto their clothes. So one day, she shoved all his cigarettes into a blender and slapped a nicotine patch onto his arm.

"What the shit is this for?" he asked her, eyeing the flesh coloured square with curiosity and dislike.

"I want you to quit smoking" she said, throwing the rest of the packet onto his lap "It's not healthy for you"

"Nonsense" he scoffed, placing the nicotine packet next to him on the couch where he was sat "I still feel like I'm in my twenties"

"Tell that to your lungs" Shera frowned "Well, if not for yourself, for me?"

"Don't start with all that emotional blackmail shit" he snarled as she sat next to him and gazed lovingly at him through deep brown eyes "It won't work on me"

"You do love me don't you?" she asked silkily, trailing a finger gently up and down his forearm "You do want to make me happy, don't you Cid?"

"Yeah but . . ." he stuttered, determined to not look into her face. Feeling she was near her objective, she turned her lips to his neck, pressing small kisses here and there. He let out a small, almost inaudible moan of delight. Her hand ran down his calf whilst her lips carried on to his ear, nibbling sensually at the lobe.

"Shera" he said huskily, trying to control himself, Gaia she was sending him crazy already "Shit . . . Shera!" he said more clearly. But she didn't stop; she straddled his waist and gave him a small kiss onto the end of his nose, deliberately choosing not to merge their lips together. His hands travelled to her waist, under her top and massaged the soft skin there. He moaned again as her delicate fingers ran themselves through his short hair – something only she knew he took delight in.

"You do know that cigarettes are a contraception?" she asked suddenly.

"Huh?" he exclaimed "What? Why?"

"Because" she said, suddenly getting off of him and eyeing him sexily "You won't be getting any more of this if you carry on smoking them"

And with that, she winked and walked off into the kitchen, leaving her husband sat there all hot and flustered.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

After that day, he was determined to stop smoking, Shera's womanly ways getting the best of him. He was sat in their small kitchen, drink in hand and his other he held a straw like he would with a cigarette, his hands keeping themselves busy.

"How hard can it be?" he muttered to himself, taking a large gulp of his tea and, by habit, taking the tip of the straw into his mouth and inhaling through it. He sighed in despair and threw it back onto the table. The nicotine patches weren't doing anything for him, and despite been told not to, he had placed about ten onto his body in various places. He went to the smoking clinic, threw away all of his lighters and matches, been through packets of nicotine inhalers and worked himself senseless with his machines but nothing was working for him. It was the lack of sex that was the only reason why he was still continuing on with his seemingly impossible task. He finished his drink and found himself day dreaming about them, putting the butt into his mouth, lighting up the end and taking in a satisfying drag that made his head buzz happily. Ever since he had his first one when he was seventeen, he had never gone a day without one, until now. Damn that cursed, sexy woman!

He forced himself not to think about it, knowing his love for Shera was much higher than his habit. He was tempted to buy a packet and smoke them in secret, never letting his wife know – but she happened to know everything. She had scolded him once because she knew that he was thinking about doing it. It had been a whole two weeks since she had made the request and she was delighted that he hadn't smoked since – not believing he would actually do so well. So as a treat she had taken him to the airplane museum in Midgar he had been to busy to go to. He had enjoyed the day out, but everywhere he had looked, people were stood there with cigarettes in their mouths, almost like they were all mocking him. There were adverts for different brands plastered all over the place, and it didn't help that when he went to their local shop, the shop owner was telling him about a new brand that had just been ordered in and how the taste was like nothing he had tasted before from a little stick.

He had gone home after that and locked himself inside the spare room, not wanting Shera to see how frustrated he really was. But she could see how bad he was taking it. He was always moody (well, moodier than usual), he would snap at people about the smallest things and had almost reduced poor Marlene to tears when she had accidently knocked something over when she had come for a visit; (he instantly had Barret threating to shove his gun up his ass if he did it again). He wouldn't eat and usually brushed it off with him not being hungry, he hardly went out of the house because he was scared that his old habit would be shoved in front of his face if he did and the one night she tried to give him his reward for quitting – he had just rolled over and told her he was too tired!

She hated to admit to herself, but he was better off with the smokes. So, as his birthday came around, he had opened his present from her to find that she had given him a months' worth of cigarettes - the vintage kind- and a lighter. He stared, open mouthed at them, not believing what he was seeing.

"I'll admit defeat" she said "I could see how wrong I was trying to make you quit" she sighed, obviously not used to admitting she was wrong "You're not you without them, so . . . happy birthday love"

For a man who swore he never cried (despite been a serial curser), tears had quickly welled up in his blue eyes as he slowly took one packet into his hands and actually hugged it to his chest, caressing it like it was his new-born child. But he soon got over himself, his eyes quickly becoming dry and his jaw set in determination.

"Well, what the fuck do you expect?" he grunted, taking one out of the packet, placing it between his lips, lighting up the end and taking in a satisfying drag like he had never stopped "I'm no quitter!"


End file.
